Pre-purchase Audi Q5 — we said walk.

A $48k used Q5 that looked immaculate. 90 minutes and a diagnostic scan later, we told the buyer to walk away — and probably saved them $14k.

Buyer had found a 2019 Q5 at a Ryde dealer — low km, full service history, priced on the market. He booked our pre-purchase inspection before putting a deposit down. Smart move.

Sam met him at the dealer on a Saturday morning. First ten minutes looked fine — service book genuine, body straight, interior honest. Scan with the Autel told a different story.

Seventeen stored DTCs cleared from the ECU in the last 72 hours, including three transmission-related codes. Adaptation data reset the same morning. A cleared history that was cleared for a reason.

Under the car: oil weep at the timing cover (common on the 2.0 TFSI, expensive to fix properly). Brake pads at 30%, rotors just inside minimum thickness. Rear diff bushings perished — MOT-fail in a European market, drives ok here but noisy within a year.

Written up in a 6-page photo report with specific part numbers and estimated repair costs. Total forecast: $11,800 within 18 months. We recommended walking.

Buyer walked. Found a better Q5 two weeks later with genuine service history and no cleared codes. We inspected that one too — passed. He's still driving it.